Billiard-cue chalker.



J. MOESCHL.

BILLIARD CUE CHALKER. APPLICATION FILED ocT. 6. I9II.

Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

JOI-IN MOESCHL, 0F ST. BERNARD, OHIO.l

IBILLIARD-CUE CHALKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedFeb. 11, 1919i.

Application filed October 6, 1917. Serial No. 195,008.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, JOHN MoEsoHL, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of St. Bernard, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Billiard-Cue Chalkers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mechanical de- Vices used instead of the hand in chalking the tip end of sticks or cues used in playing the well-known game of billiards,7 and its object is to provide a suspended chalkholder that is adapted to vertically reciprocate under spring-tension and, at the same time, automatically rotate in opposite directions under said reciprocal movement so that the tip of the cue, as the latter is pressed or driven upwardly into frictional contact with the lower face of the block of chalk, shall become duly prepared or dulled for the desired engagement with the cueball in the course of playing the said game, and a further object of my invention is to provide suspension means in connection with said chalk-holder to catch the liberated powder or dust from the chalk-block caused by the rotation of the latter in preparing the cue tip for play, and to readily apply said powder to the end of the cue back of the tip. the same as the block of chalk is used by hand in dry-smoothing said upper part of the cue for play, all of which will be more fully and particularly described in connection with the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical axial section of my improved device shown in normal condition but not in attached suspended place; Fig. 2, an elevation of the device; Fig. 3, a plan view of the upper end of the device, omitting the lower dome-portion of the chalking chamber; Fig. 4, a bottom plan view of the iianged driving-disk used in connection with the chalk-block rotating means; Fig. 5, a bottom plan view of the said lower domeportion of the chalking-chamber, omitting the chalk-block and its rotary suspension means; and Fig. 6, a bottom plan view of said lower dome-portion of the chalklngchamber.

1 indicates a vertical cylindrical casing or tube having at its lower end a dome 2 removably-connected at its reduced upper part 3 by means of a bayonet-joint 4, the latter as best shown in Fig. 2, for quick disconnection when required to have access to the interior.

5 indicates the flanged bottom of the dome 2 having screw-threaded connection and provided with a downwardly-extending tubular center 6, the latter being used for guiding the upper end of the cue into the chalking-chainber supplied by said dome.

7 indicates each one of four or any suitable number of upright slanting spring-arms whose feet 8 are radially arranged and secured by means of rivets or the like 9 to the inner face of the iianged bottom 5 of the dome, as best shown in Fig. 1, the upper ends 10 of such arms 7 being bent outwardly and supporting thereunder a ring spiral 11 made of resilient piano-wire or like material and adapted to resiliently'hold a bunch or mass of cotton ber such as waste or wicking 12, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described.

13 indicates a cap at the upper end of the casing 1 having a downwardly-flanged screw-connection 14 and an upwardly-extending tubular center 15, from which latter a tube 16 extends and is provided with a screw-plug 17 that has a suspending-eye 18 for use in conveniently hanging the entire device in position for use adjacent to the table where the game is played.

19 indicates a downwardly-turned metallic cup that has vertical slits 20 to impart clamping qualities thereto in connection with the block of chalk 21 inserted and lirmly held therein soas to rotate therewith through the instrumentality of the spirallywound or twisted steel strip or bar 22, the latter being riveted at its lower end to the tubular extension or hub 23 at the center of the top 24 of the chalk-holder 19 and with its upper end extending through a transverse slot 25 in the center of the disk 26 that is suitably inserted and held in the upper end of the said casing 1, all as best shown in Fig. 1. The upper end 27 of the spiral-strip 22 is bent over laterally so as to prevent its disengagement or dropping from suspending place in the disk 26, and, also, to support the chalk-holder 19 in its normal position at thebottom of the casing 1.

An open spiral spring 28 axially encircles the spiral-strip 22, its opposite ends bearing against the bottom of the disk 26 and the top 24 of the chalk-holder, respectively.

The disk 26 has a downwardly-turned rim llO or flange 29 whereby it is better held by its broader or deeper edge-surface within the upper end of the casing 1.

ln using my device to deposit the chalk on the tip and upper end of the cue, the tip end of said cue is inserted in the guideway 6, thence through the cluster of spring-arms 7 until its eXtreme tip contacts with the bottom face of the block of chalk 21.

Upon pressure continuing on the cue up wardly without, however, turning it, and driving it against the expansive pressure of Vthe spring 28 the chalk-block is caused to rotate against the round-faced tip by means of its tightly-clamped holder turning horizontally through the medium of its propelling-screw or twisted strip 22 the latter being, in turn, caused to turn and advance upwardly by its contact with the walls of the transverse slot 25. which is but very slightly larger in area than that of the cross-section of the said twisted strip 22. The upper end of the said twisted strip 22 then passes onward into the suspension-tube 16 of my device until the chalk-holder has almost reached the disk 26, with the spiral spring 28 duly compressed ahead of it in its ascent, and the said chalk-block releasing its subA stance upon the said round-faced tip of the cue during such ascent thereof.

In withdrawing the cue the descent of the chalk-block, still in rotary chalking Vcontact with the cue tip, is automatically performed by the expansion of the said spiral spring 28 so that the said tip is thoroughly chalked, and while the cue is in said descent the surface of the upper end thereof below said tip is also ehalked by contact with the gripping or closing in of the cotton-waste containing the powdered droppings from the rotating and abrading block around the tip.

The ring spiral 11 causes the cotton-waste to resiliently grip the'upper end of the cuff as the latter is inserted and withdrawn from the chalkjng-chamber and does not come into contact with the cue itself at any time.

It is obvious that, if desired, the cottonwaste mass can be dispensed with and the chalk-holder device only used in chalking the Vtip of the cue, but the'full purpose of the player would not, of course, be served thereby.

I claim A billiard-cue chalker comprising a tubular shell or casing, a dome at the lower end of the shell, a dome-bottom having a central cue guide-way, spring-arms supported on said dome-bottom concentric to and above the guide-way, a spiral spring encircling said spring arms in ring form and carrying a mass or cluster of cotton waste or the like for service as a catclrall for the chalk powder or dust, a chalk-holder, a twisted strip from which the chalk-holder is suspended to rotate therewith, a cap atl the top of the shell r casing and having a central transverse slot adapted for vertical and rotary engagement of said twisted strip to cause the rotation of the chalk-block against the rounded tip of the cue, a spiral spring encircling the twisted strip and under expansive pressure between the chalk-holder and the casing cap, and an auxiliary tubular casing extending from said cap for use in suspending the device convenient to vthe table where the cue is to be used.

JOHN MOESCHL.

(lopies of this patent may be obtained Ior ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

